


Not So Easy Life In The Sith Academy And Beyond

by ChristineThalassinou1990



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Bookworm Vowrawn, Caring Marr, Caring Vowrawn, Collective Hatred Toward Nomen Karr, Dromund Kaas, Emotional Support Cat, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Korriban (Star Wars), One Shot Collection, Protective Marr, Sick Sith, Sickfic, Sith Academy, Sith Pureblood, Sith Tombs, Thanaton Needs a Hug, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-10-11 07:58:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20542754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristineThalassinou1990/pseuds/ChristineThalassinou1990
Summary: A collection of shorter & longer one-shots about our favourite Sith Lords as they are trying to navigate their lives inside and outside of the Sith Academy, facing problems thought being below of any Sith, like outright homelessness after graduation. Heavily AU, where the Sith and Jedi do dislike each other but not trying to kill the other actively, and the Galaxy is more or less in peace.





	1. Freshly Graduated, Starveling Sith Lords Looking For A Place To Live

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sickmuse23](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sickmuse23/gifts).

> The conception is pretty much the same as was with my 'Error in the System' story: a bunch of one-shots, not necessarily in chronological order.  
Chronological order of the chapters (so far): 6., 3., 8., 1., 2., 4., 5., 7.  

> 
> In-story ages of my beloved Sith in the first story:
> 
> Marr - 21  
Malgus - 20  
Baras - almost 20 (in a month)  
Vowrawn - 36
> 
> The author is completely open for ideas and prompts, however, no promises here.

As was usual, it was raining on Dromund Kaas, soaking Marr's and Malgus' clothes as they were walking out of the main building of the Sith Academy campus. They were pretty reluctant to do so, however, mostly because it was warm and dry inside, and as freshly graduated students, they couldn't stay any longer in the dormitories. The only problem was that they had nowhere to go from there, neither of them owned an apartment.

"You could go home" Marr suggested as they dropped on the stairs in perfect agreement.

"Yeah, but... I just don't want to" Malgus shrugged. "My parents sacrificed so much just to get me into the best school possible, and I'd feel like an ungrateful shit if I just went back to exploit them even more. I'm a Sith, for Force's sake, I should be helping them, not the other way around! And yet, I'm sitting here with only a bag of clothes and my lightsaber."

"And with your best buddy who've prevented your untimely expulsion countless times, but whatever" the other muttered, pulling up his hood to hide his face in shadows.

Malgus sighed impatiently; yes, basically Marr was the sole reason he could pass most of his exams, because he was interested only in lightsaber combat and military strategy. In everything else, like Sith history or philosophy, Marr helped him to learn them at least to the level that was worth a pass. Not an excellent, a magnificent, or even a nice pass... just a pass.

"And for that, I'm grateful. But it doesn't change our current situation, which is that we're sitting here with basically nothing but some clothes, two lightsabers and an amount of money that's maybe enough to buy a few sandwiches because it's pretty much the end of the month."

Well, thinking it over that way, it indeed sounded pathetic, especially that they were supposed to be fully trained Sith Lords by now. However, right now, they were just soaked to the bones, homeless Sith Lords. Unless...

The idea struck Marr like an unexpected bolt of Force-lightning.

"Perhaps I have an idea" he said, searching for his holocomm. "When I was in that exchange student program on Korriban, my mentor was a post-grad guy... who, if I remember correctly, once said that he has an apartment here, in Kaas City. Maybe we could rent it."

"And from what?" Malgus asked with a grumpy huff.

Marr didn't answer, he was busy trying to find Vowrawn's number, hoping that he'd pick up. The last thing he'd heard about the pureblood Sith was that a year ago, he'd passed all of his exams with flying colours and was in pursuit of his dream job of being a librarian in the Sith Archives of the Citadel. Marr was pretty sure he'd got it since, Vowrawn was the most charming and persuasive sweet talker he'd ever met, there was practically nothing he couldn't achieve, given enough time.

"Oh my... My young exchange student buddy. How're you doing?" Vowrawn asked with a huge grin when he finally answered the call; even his miniature holopicture was buzzing with energy.

"Fine, thanks... However, a bit soaked and cold" Marr admitted. "Look... can I ask a favour?"

"Yes. And yes, you can use my apartment. Moreover, Malgus can use it, too. You're welcome" the pureblood answered casually, still grinning and obviously enjoying the baffled expressions on the pair's faces. "C'mon... both of you are freshly graduated, Marr's an orphan, and as far as I know, you don't have an own apartment, either, Malgus. It wasn't hard to guess what troubles you so much that you'd call me."

Meanwhile, as they were speaking, a fourth person began inching toward them, with a definitely hopeful expression on his face. However, before he could've figured out how to politely interrupt, Malgus spotted him.

"Hey, Baras. You look like shit, have you even slept?" he greeted the other, and Baras just shook his head as he walked to them.

"Oh, hello. Long time no see" Vowrawn said when he, too, spotted the newcomer.

Baras, too, was among the lucky few who could even apply to the Sadow Student Mobility Program, and he was also on Korriban, only half a year later than Marr. He and Vowrawn were on pretty good terms, however, it couldn't be said they knew each other well.

"Hey" Baras muttered, trying and failing miserably to smile. "I just heard that you'd let them rent your apartment, and I thought... Maybe you'd have me as well?"

"Oh my... well. Okay, just stay right where you are. I'll get there as soon as possible and we'll talk it through face to face" Vowrawn said then aborted the call without saying anything else.

"Great... More soaking" Marr growled as Baras dropped next to them, burying his head into his knees as he fought both his tiredness and his boiling emotions.

"Want to talk about it?" Malgus asked.

"Well... my roommate just checked out yesterday without even a word, and... I can't afford that place alone. So I had to leave this morning" Baras murmured to his knees.

"What a jerk" Marr commented, disgusted, and Malgus nodded; they both hated dishonest people.

About half an hour later Vowrawn arrived in his speeder, looking at the small team of huddled, freshly graduated, homeless Sith blinking up at him with big, sad puppy eyes, especially Baras.

"Oh Force... you're a miserable little bunch, aren't you?" he sighed with genuine compassion. "Grab your things and get in, my young Sith Lords."

The little gang obeyed, and soon they arrived to Vowrawn's huge, two-story apartment. The pureblood parked the speeder in the pretty big garage, gesturing to his guests to hop off. They did so, Vowrawn following them close. He waited for the fresh Sith to look around, then he turned to them, ready to make the rules clear.

"First, welcome in my home. As you can see, it's a pretty big place that I've had all for myself until this very moment. So, to be honest, I'm quite glad I finally have a few roommates. My bedroom's on the floor level, which means you can choose from the three bedrooms upstairs. One for each of you, hm?"

"We were roommates with Malgus at the Academy, we have no problem continuing this way so you don't have to open every room" Marr offered, and Malgus nodded in agreement.

"As you'd like it, it's up to you three to decide. Follow me, I show you the rooms, then."

The trio followed the pureblood Sith upstairs, where they walked through a huge, nicely decorated home library, then a comfortable living room. One could access the three bedrooms upstairs from here. Marr and Malgus chose the one to the left, and Baras picked the middle one.

"We'd need a few new furniture, I'll get it done today" Vowrawn said. "Take your time, get used to the new environment, or just explore as much as you like, there's nothing that's forbidden, however, if any of my books gets hurt, the culprit will get hurt, too. Any question?"

The three Sith just shook their heads, Baras looked like he'd fall asleep where he stood. Vowrawn noticed it, narrowing his deep ember-coloured eyes worriedly.

"Go, get some sleep" he commented bluntly, and Baras obeyed without a word, disappearing in his room. "What happened to him?" he asked Marr.

"His asshole roommate got lost yesterday, without a word. He can't afford the place alone so had to leave today morning" Marr summarized the story, and Vowrawn just shook his head disapprovingly.

"An asshole indeed. However, as much as I'd like to stay with you, I have to go back to work, my lunch break's over. I'll be back around nine o'clock."

"So you got the job in the Archives?"

"Of course I did" Vowrawn grinned, then after a last friendly wave, he left the room.

"Well, at least we're in a warm, dry place again" Marr sighed, dropping into one of the comfortable armchairs.

Malgus muttered something in agreement then went to hunt down some food.


	2. Never Meant to Adopt a Bunch of Sith But Here I Am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, Vowrawn is just happy not living so alone anymore

Vowrawn pulled his robe tighter around himself as he was walking toward his apartment, yawning almost in every other moment; it was a long day, after all. Because of inventory, he had to go to work much earlier than he'd used to at normal days, then came Marr's call, and he spent his lunch break with gathering the sad little bunch and giving them a lift to his apartment. He'd got back to the Archives late, and his boss Darth Lyvros yelled at him for that, however, that didn't shake Vowrawn too much.

When the Sith stepped out of the elevator, a deep silence greeted him. That was a bit suspicious, given that his new roommates were all young Sith males, bound to bring chaos everywhere they went.

"Marr? Malgus?" he tried but no answer came.

Vowrawn shrugged, assuming they were outside or something, but when he probed through the Force, he felt all three new presence within the territory of his apartment.

"What are you up to?" he murmured, heading upstairs.

As he reached the second level and cast a quick glance outside, he spotted Malgus on the huge balcony, going through different lightsaber exercises at dizzying speed; Vowrawn was worried he'd even fall off the balcony if not being careful enough. He considered going outside and warn him but then decided against it. It would've just broken Malgus' concentration, and perhaps _that_ would've led to fatal consequences. So the pureblood Sith just continued his way into his library, spotting Baras huddling in one of the comfortable armchairs, nibbling on a bar of chocolate and absorbed in his reading. As far as Vowrawn could tell, it was a book about different interrogation techniques.

"Feeling better, I see" he said, and Baras just nodded absentmindedly, completely lost in his book; Vowrawn, as a born bookworm himself, couldn't suppress a pride smile seeing that. "That's my Sith" he muttered, walking across the library and into the living room.

At first he didn't see him but looking around again, Vowrawn spotted the curled up, sleeping Marr on the couch in the farthest corner, hiding so deep under the blanket he found that only a few strands of messy, short black hair were visible of him.

The Sith turned on his heel and left the room with silent steps, smiling all the way. Judged by the signs, his new roommates had got used to the new environment perfectly.


	3. Go to the Tombs, They Said; It Will Be Fun, They Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vowrawn takes his exchange student buddy on some holocron-hunting

Vowrawn debated with himself for a long time about taking the exchange student in his care to the tomb or not. Although the hierarchy in the Korriban Academy was clear about the locals being in charge, Vowrawn wasn't the type who'd have abused that fact just for the sake of amusement.

Marr was barely eighteen, and he showed an interest next to nothing in Sith rituals, so the pureblood had a feeling that this trip wouldn't be the kind of adventure the young warrior sought here. On the other hand, though, he'd have been the perfect bodyguard, and Vowrawn wasn't arrogant – and stupid – enough to venture into a Sith tomb alone. Finally, he decided to take Marr with him, with the proper precautions in place, of course.

"Good morning, sleepyhead" he smiled when Marr shuffled out of the smaller bedroom of their quarters.

As a post-graduate and a mentor in the Sadow Student Mobility Program, Vowrawn got his own two-bedrooms-and-a-kitchen quarters, making it much easier to accommodate his exchange student buddy from Dromund Kaas.

Marr just cast a drowsily indignant glance at him and muttered something that could or could not pass as a greeting; it was up to Vowrawn to decide. He decided to take it as a 'good morning'.

"I hope you're ready for some adventure, because I'm about to ask you to accompany me to somewhere" he said as Marr was nibbling on some leftover pizza from yesterday evening.

"Lemme guess... you don't want to go into a tomb alone" the teen muttered, accepting Vowrawn's offer of a big cup of milk.

"Your perception is flawless, my young friend. And since you're second only to Malgus in lightsaber combat back there on Dromund Kaas, I couldn't wish for a better protection" Vowrawn nodded solemnly; he believed that encouraging the students' talents and admitting their strengths, or, in other words, praising them, was never a mistake.

Marr just looked back at him for a time, his deep golden eyes searching the Sith's face, and Vowrawn was getting worried that he'd refuse the task. It would've been well within his rights to take advantage of his rank and force the younger student to obey, but Vowrawn wasn't going to do that. He knew perfectly well that no good result would come from forced obedience, and he preferred his allies to work with him out of their free will and decision.

"If you need protection, I can give it, but only as long as it's against tuk'atas and things like that. I can't protect you from ghosts" Marr said finally, finishing his milk.

"That's absolutely fine. Protection from ghosts is my area of expertise, anyway. And speaking of this, we have to take a few precautions."

"Like?"

"Like creating a temporary bond so I can shield your mind from harm. Going mad and committing suicide/getting killed by one's equally insane comrades is a number one cause of death in Sith tombs."

Hearing that, Marr swallowed visibly but didn't back away; he'd given his word that he'd protect Vowrawn, and he wasn't going to break his promise.

"Fine" he nodded, hoping that Vowrawn didn't notice the slight trembling in his voice.

*

About two hours later they were on their way into the tomb of Ludo Kressh, which was located in a cave not far from the Academy. Vowrawn claimed that very few even knew about the tomb, and currently, no one was interested in it enough to excavate it. The tombs in the Valley of the Dark Lords were more than enough.

"And what are you looking for in there?" Marr asked, his hand never leaving the near vicinity of his lightsaber.

They'd met a few tuk'atas but nothing more dangerous yet; however, Marr had a feeling that it was just the beginning.

"A holocron. It's not specified whose holocron it is, but these devices tend to contain a vast amount of invaluable data, so I dare say it doesn't even matter. I have to at least try to get it" Vowrawn answered as they stepped into the cave leading to the tomb.

The temperature almost instantly dropped, quite significantly, and Marr was grateful that he listened to Vowrawn and didn't leave his robe behind. Now he pulled it tighter around himself, holding his activated lightsaber in his hand.

As they walked deeper into the cave, suddenly, out of nothing a bunch of bat-like creatures attacked them. Vowrawn successfully stunned a few of them simultaneously, but the rest flew at them, definitely with murderous intentions. Marr pushed the pureblood Sith behind himself with an instinctive move, and Vowrawn was clever enough not to protest. He backed away, supporting Marr from afar with stuns and Force-lightning. It was over in a minute.

"Thank you. Are you hurt?" Vowrawn asked as he ran back to Marr.

"I'm okay. Let's go!"

They continued their way, and after a few more similar fights, the two Sith finally reached the entrance of the tomb. The concentrated energy of the Dark Side was so strong there that even with Vowrawn's protection, Marr felt literally sick as the energy tried to crush his mind and body alike. Even Vowrawn looked paler than usual, however, it was obvious that he was used to such assaults and had learnt long ago how to shield himself from them.

"I won't take it badly if you don't want to come inside with me" the pureblood said, but Marr was sure he wouldn't have been happy with that, either.

"No way in hell I'd let you go inside alone. You asked me to protect you, and I promised I'd do that. So shut up and go, get your holocron!" he growled, irritated.

"Hm. You're a quite remarkable young man, Marr. Loyal and true to your given word. Don't change that good habit of yours!" Vowrawn grinned, and they stepped into the tomb.

Despite of Marr's expectation, the tomb wasn't completely dark, but the dim, purplish-coloured light was almost as unnerving as total darkness would have been. He constantly heard whispers, but Vowrawn warned him to try and ignore them, so he did his best to heed that advice, however, it proved to be more and more harder as they got deeper and deeper. The tomb was cold, so much that he began freezing even in his robe, but at least it was free of any kind of creatures.

"There it is" he suddenly heard Vowrawn's content purr as they reached another chamber; the pureblood seemed to be less affected by the cold, however, he, too, tried to hide in his robe as much as possible.

"Then g-grab it and g-get the h-hell out of h-here..." Marr pleaded, his teeth chattering.

Vowrawn looked at him and nodded, tucking the holocron into the huge pocket of his robe.

"Let's go!" he said, leading his young charge out of the tomb as fast as possible.

The way back felt longer, and when they finally stumbled out of the cave, they could only fell to the ground in a heap, trembling with cold shivers and trying to warm each other up.

"How about making a lot of hot tea and curling up under at least three warm blankets for the rest of the day?" Vowrawn suggested when the shivering finally subsided and they could stand up.

"Absolutely acceptable" Marr nodded, and they went back into the Academy, Vowrawn not telling to anyone about his finding.

An hour and a hot shower later Marr saw that his mentor went with his idea about the hot tea and warm blankets, resting on the couch and examining the holocron he'd found.

"You know... I'm totally okay with protecting people, that's what I want to do. But I'd prefer not to go into Sith tombs ever again" he said when Vowrawn looked up at him.

"Noted" the pureblood nodded, smiling.


	4. Too Much Headache For Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vowrawn encounters a nasty fit of migraine (and realizes again that his boss is an asshole, but there's nothing new in that)

Vowrawn groaned into his pillow when his alarm went off, warning him that it was time to get up and go to work. Although, however much he loved his job anyway, right now going to work was the very last thing he wanted to do. He had a terrible night, with far too little sleep, and now he even felt a massive headache building. He hissed painfully when the throbbing in his head got worse with sitting up.

_ I need a painkiller_, he thought as he stood up with another groan, squeezing his eyes shut against the light and the pain, which seemed to worsen with every passing minute.

Practically blind, he stumbled into the bathroom and searched for the injection, giving himself the shot without hesitation, no matter how much he hated needles. The painkiller was supposed to take effect in a few minutes, but it barely eased the splitting headache, only made his empty stomach churn, rendering him a retching mess for a few minutes.

"Something's definitely not okay..." the pureblood whispered as he wiped his face, drenched in sweat.

When the nausea subsided, he dragged himself back to his room, calling his boss that he couldn't go to work today; hell, even getting to another room was a challenge right now.

"Bloody hell, you look like you'd throw up in any minute... And I absolutely don't want to clean vomit here. Don't you dare show your face until you're perfectly alright" Darth Lyvros growled and aborted the call without even a farewell.

"Yeah, fuck you, too..." Vowrawn muttered, tossing his holocomm aside and standing up again.

He had to lean against the wall for support as he made his way to the kitchen, debating if it would've been a wise decision to try to eat something or not. The painkiller he took with empty stomach made said organ quite upset; perhaps a few bits of some biscuits would calm it somewhat.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he suddenly heard Marr's worried voice; and despite that voice being deep and smooth like black velvet, it still made Vowrawn's head throb even more painfully.

"Please, just... turn the volume down a bit, will you?" the Sith groaned, burying his head into his hands.

"Okay, sorry. But you should just go back to your bed and lie down before you collapse" Marr said, stepping to Vowrawn so he could catch him if needed. "Come on, go back."

Vowrawn obeyed, stumbling back to his bed and collapsing on it in a heap.

"Can I help with something?" Marr asked, crouching next to the bed and covering the shivering Sith with his blanket.

"Some food... And a cup of hot tea... something for pain..."

"Yeah, that much was obvious" Marr sighed, leaving for the kitchen.

It had been a month since he'd moved here, and during this time, he'd learned pretty well where Vowrawn kept this or that, for example his herbal teas. Now Marr quickly prepared a big cup of it and took it back to the Sith, together with some biscuit he found.

"Here" he muttered, putting down the food and the cup next to Vowrawn, who began nibbling, casting a grateful glance at him.

When Vowrawn was finished, for a brief moment he felt like everything he could eat would come back, but fortunately, the feeling passed as he lay down again, curling up and burying his aching head into his pillow.

Marr just watched him, quite helpless and feeling his friend's suffering clearly. Sometimes he hated that as a Warrior, his knowledge of medicine was limited to basic first aid on the field; Inquisitors were generally better at complex medic tasks and healing. However, there _was_ something he could do...

"Sleep" he murmured, sending a strong suggestion through the Force, supporting it with a gentle touch on the pureblood's messy dark hair.

A split second later it took effect, and Vowrawn fell into a deep, dreamless and hopefully healing sleep.


	5. The Tale of the Kind Librarian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 16-year-old Thanaton finds a hiding place in the Sith Archives from his abusive master; then he meets Vowrawn and finally, his life changes for the better

Thanaton knew very well that the closing hour of the Archives in the Citadel was nearing rapidly, but he simply didn't care at all right now. He'd hide in a dark corner and wait for everyone else to leave then spend the night here if he had to. But he wouldn't go back to his master; he'd rather die.

The desperate teen pulled his torn robe tighter around himself and hugged his knees closer to his chest as he heard light footsteps coming toward his direction, but he calmed somewhat when he recognized the pureblood Sith librarian. He seemed like a good guy, unlike the master of the place, Darth Lyvros. The latter was a fat, ugly Darth with undeniably considerable power that he liked using to intimidate his subordinates. However, Thanaton had never seen the pureblood being afraid of Lyvros, which fact surely irritated him to no end.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your brooding, my young friend, but we're closing for today" the pureblood said, looking down at Thanaton's huddled form with something that seemed like genuine worry.

When the only answer was Thanaton burying his head into his arms, the Sith sighed and crouched down so they were more or less on the same eye-level.

"Look at me? Please?" he asked, and it was so utterly different from his master's barking that despite of himself, Thanaton obeyed, raising his head slowly and looking into the Sith's eyes.

And they were quite beautiful eyes, even as a male, Thanaton had to admit that. Big, almond-shaped eyes in the yellow-orange colour of blazing ember, and still full of kindness and care. No one had ever looked at him like this, so friendly and worried, and it made him want to cry, which he did, not being able to hold back the tears any longer after that awful day.

"Now, now... what's wrong? Someone's hurt you?" the librarian asked, settling next to the teen and hugging his shaking shoulders, but the comforting gesture just made Thanaton weep even more as he gave in completely to his despair and exhaustion.

The Sith didn't ask more, deciding that perhaps it would be wiser to wait for the teen to calm down and begin talking by himself. The signs didn't escape his attention: the torn robe, the bruises on the kid's neck and wrist, and the desperate sobbing. Someone had recently abused that kid, most probably his own master; unfortunately, that was a more common thing than anyone would've liked to admit it.

Meanwhile, Thanaton slowly calmed down, feeling completely drained and a bit embarrassed in the librarian's arms, whose name he didn't even know. The only thing he knew about the Sith was that he'd shown much more compassion in a few minutes than anyone else he'd ever met in his life combined.

"Feeling better?" the pureblood asked, and Thanaton nodded hesitantly.

"May I ask... who're you, my Lord?"

"My name's Vowrawn, and I'm definitely not your Lord, or anyone else's, for that matter, so no need to be so formal. And you, my friend? How may I call you?"

"Thanaton..." The name was his master's choice when he took him as an apprentice, and while not the best, it was still better than the old one which only reminded him of his ugly past.

"How very... optimistic" Vowrawn commented, patting the teen's shoulder. "Well, Thanaton, I have a distinctive feeling that you don't want to go home tonight, right?"

"I don't want to, and I won't. Ever. I'd rather die" Thanaton choked out, gritting his teeth.

"Hmm..."

For a long time, Vowrawn didn't say a thing, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Then...

"That sounds a bit drastic, my young friend. How about becoming my apprentice instead?" the pureblood suggested, smiling at the teen friendly. "I'm thirty-eight, it's high time I took an apprentice by any decent measure. People began talking, you know."

"But... what about my master...?" Thanaton asked, wishing with all of his heart that Vowrawn was serious with this offer.

"Well, I'm sure it won't be a problem. As my best friend and one of my roommates, Darth Marr said, I'm the most persuasive, sweet-talking bastard he's ever met. So don't worry, I'll make your master understand that it's the best for both of you."

_So he can't revel in child abuse any longer, whoever that motherfucker is..._, Vowrawn thought, unconsciously hugging his new apprentice more protectively; and after a second of hesitation, the teen snuggled closer, burying his face into his shoulder.

"It's going to be alright now" the pureblood promised, and he was intent to keep that promise until his very last breath.


	6. Sithy Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 17-year-old Marr finally gets accepted into the Sith Academy on Dromund Kaas. His first day there holds things both good and bad

Marr looked up from his book with an expression of mild disgust on his face when he heard the distinctive sound of clashing lightsaber blades. Being finally in the Sith Academy shouldn't have meant that it was a free-for-all Friday for every student to solve their problems with each other by random lightsaber-duels, still, there were a few who thought exactly just that.

Marr and his new classmates, all between the age of fifteen and seventeen, had arrived only an hour ago to the huge campus of the Sith Academy on Dromund Kaas, not one of them from quite afar, so one would've thought that the journey at least wore them out a bit. Well, definitely not Malgus and Adraas, the two combatants who were trying to beat the shit out of each other, making good use of the spacious courtyard of the campus.

The rest of the newcomers mostly encouraged them, and normally, Marr would've enjoyed a good fight himself, but now he was just tired from the ten-days-long journey to here, he was hungry, his head hurt, and the only thing he really wanted was the Overseer pointing him to the direction of his bed. Unfortunately, that Overseer just didn't want to show up for some reason, giving the perfect opportunity to Adraas and Malgus to test their sabers against each other.

Marr got up with the intention to find a calmer, more silent corner in the courtyard, but he couldn't take half a dozen steps when a strong Force-push caught him by surprise, sending him flying a few meters, then he landed on his right side and arm, getting a few ugly bruises and grazes in the process. The whole thing was just so utterly unexpected that for a while he just lay on the ground, trying to figure out what hurt and what the hell just happened to him.

Soon enough, he heard heavy footsteps, and in the next second, Malgus crouched down, his expression was one of genuine guilt.

"I didn't mean... Adraas just... jumped away" he explained, and Marr couldn't resist the urge to facepalm as he sat up.

"Because you two didn't know better than to play with the Force on a crowded courtyard, really..." he groaned as he felt a burning, stabbing pain in his elbow, signalling something more serious than a bruise.

Malgus flinched, hanging his head; and that was when Marr spotted Adraas behind the other's back, with his lightsaber held high in his hands, ready to strike. Pushing aside the pain, Marr used his right hand to pull Malgus from harm's way while reaching out with the left, letting lose a burst of lightning. It wasn't strong enough yet to kill, still, it stopped Adraas' advance very effectively, throwing him back a few meters.

"You're a pretty coward little shit, aren't you?!" Malgus growled, standing up, but Marr held him back.

"Leave it... doesn't worth it" he said, looking around; everybody on the courtyard were watching them, casting quite nasty glances at Adraas. "Everyone saw just how much of a coward he is. I think he won't bother you again."

Adraas' eyes were full of hate, but he didn't dare contradict; not with everybody watching them. So he just turned on his heel, leaving them to sort out the situation.

"Thanks... for what you've done. You shouldn't have, not after I hit you" Malgus said with a tentative smile.

"That was an accident... It happens. He, on the other hand, was about to kill you, sneaking upon you from behind, and I so fucking hate people who're afraid of fighting the other face to face" Marr shrugged then winced as the pain in his elbow got worse with the movement.

In that moment, finally the Overseer got there, quickly sorting out the newcomers, giving them their first instructions and their room numbers.

"You should see a doctor with that first" the Overseer nodded at Marr's injured and by now quite colourful elbow. "Pretty much looks like it's broken. What happened?"

"Nothing, just I wasn't paying attention to the ship's gate when we arrived. I'm tired, it was a very long trip" Marr lied without a blink of an eye; he wasn't going to tell on Malgus, for which he looked very grateful.

The Overseer just nodded, gesturing him to go inside already, giving him the directions to the med bay. Marr was lucky, his elbow was just fractured, not broken, and it was perfectly healed by dinnertime, thanks to the magical healing substance named kolto.

"Looks much better" Malgus commented on the condition of his injury when Marr got back to their shared room.

"Feels much better, too" Marr sighed, sprawling on his bed and a minute later falling asleep.

Malgus was a bit surprised by the other's sudden ending of the conversation, but then he just shrugged; he could've got a much worse roommate. Like Adraas.


	7. Emotional Support Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanaton finds a little kitten in the woods and decides to take it back home

Thanaton was taking a walk in the forest near to Vowrawn's apartment; it was pretty close to the edge of the city, so whenever one of them looked outside, they saw the endless jungle in almost every possible direction. Not that it was less dangerous so close to the city, still, Thanaton, as the newest member of the little Sith gang that was occupying the pureblood's apartment, felt safer when he was alone. Everyone was friendly toward him when Vowrawn introduced him as his new apprentice and their new roommate, however, Marr and Malgus looked pretty scary, simply because of their size. Both of them were much taller than Thanaton.

Baras, on the other hand, was just another friendly neighbourhood Inquisitor, with him, Thanaton quickly found common ground. Both of them liked books, and as it turned out, the younger Sith was quite fond of Baras' baked goods, a trait all of them in the apartment shared. And Baras was just happy that the others ate his cookies like there was no tomorrow.

As Thanaton was wandering between the woods, being careful not to go too far, he heard a small, miserable sound nearby. His first thought was that it was some little animal which had lost its mom and was alone, and it made his heart squeeze painfully; he, too, was alone and lost for a very long time. He began searching, and soon, he'd found the source of the pitiful voice: a small tabby cat sat under a bush, perhaps a few weeks old, mewling miserably for its lost family.

"Save it, little one... they're most probably gone for good" Thanaton said quietly as he crouched down to take a better look at the tiny thing.

For some inexplicable reason, the kitten wasn't afraid of him, and when he reached out slowly with his hand, it stood up and went to him, poking his hand with its cold little nose. The sight made him smile.

"How about coming with me instead of being here in the rain and cold? Would you like it?"

The cat rubbed its soft head against his palm, looking up at him trustingly. That was all Thanaton needed. He picked the kitten up gently, hugging it to his chest, trying to keep it warm between his hands, and the small thing curled against his chest, purring contently. The Sith headed home, jogging through the jungle as fast as he could.

When he arrived in the apartment, he went straight to the kitchen to find some food for his new little friend. Marr and Malgus were there, sitting at the table, nibbling on some leftover cookies and talking about some Warrior thing Thanaton had zero affinity to. When he stepped in, both of them looked up, smiling at him friendly.

"Hey there" Marr greeted him, but Malgus' attention was somewhere else.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at the two large ears peeking out between Thanaton's fingers.

As an instinctive reaction, Thanaton hugged his kitten more protectively, but then he reminded himself that Malgus' size and rough voice were deceiving; he wouldn't have hurt small, helpless animals. So he opened his hands slowly, letting the kitten to scramble onto the table.

To be fair, Marr's and Malgus' faces were priceless. They just stared at the tiny thing with the huge ears, and the kitten stared back, unflinching. It even let out a loud meow, perhaps meant to be a greeting. Marr placed his hand before the cat, palm up, and the kitten went closer to smell it.

"Umm... okay, that's a bit strange" he muttered when he felt a small tongue licking his finger.

"No, it's just bathing you" Vowrawn said when he stepped in to the adorable sight of a small kitten rubbing its head against Marr's huge hand; it was twice as big as the whole animal.

"But why?"

"Because it's a cat, it's in its instincts. You've never heard about cats?"

"Not really..."

"I've found it" Thanaton added, hugging his little friend again. "Can I keep it, master?"

"Why not? And it seems it's a 'she'" Vowrawn said as he took a better look at the peacefully purring kitten.

"Keep it?" Malgus asked back, clearly not too amused by this development.

"She's an emotional support kitten for my apprentice. Deal with it" Vowrawn suggested with a wide grin, patting Malgus' shoulder friendly.

Thanaton blushed at the openness Vowrawn handled his less than ideal emotional state with, but when he glanced at the Warriors, neither of them looked back with contempt or something similar. If anything, their gaze was one of understanding and support.

"Thanks, guys" Thanaton whispered with a tentative smile, then he proceeded, with the help of his master, to take care of their new little, fluffy roommate.


	8. Unbreakable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sparring match in the Academy gets a bit out of hand, and it shapes Marr's and Malgus' friendship in a way neither of them expects

It happened during their last year in the Academy that their lightsaber instructor got the fabulous idea of arranging a small 'tournament' for his remaining students. By that time, only Malgus, Marr, Adraas, Baras and a handful of other students remained. There were many who realized in time that being a Sith wasn't for them and got away in one way or another, and there were a few deaths as well. They were in a Sith Academy, after all, by far the most dangerous place to be a student at.

"Alright, princesses, today we're going to decide once and for all who's the best of you!" the instructor, a very tall and very massive guy – almost as tall as Malgus was – said, with a definitely bloodthirsty glint in his yellow eyes. "And to motivate you lazy bastards, the winner's prize will be a very rare crystal that you can use for your lightsaber" he added, showing mentioned crystal, which was indeed pretty nice, deep purple, almost black in colour, and the distinctive Dark Side energy surrounded it like an invisible cloud.

Now, that made everyone interested, but Marr knew that it was a basically decided question from the very beginning; Malgus was the best among them, without any doubt. Yes, he and even Adraas managed to best him for a few times during the years, but these were times when Malgus had other problems on his hands, either physical ones, for example a bad flu, or his thoughts were simply elsewhere, like when his grandparents had died in a terrible speeder accident, and he took that pretty badly.

Now, however, Malgus was at peak condition, and that meant no one had any real chance against him; their instructor just wanted a good and preferably bloody show. Not with actual deaths, of course – there were precious few of them remained, after all –, but duelling without restraints always meant at least broken bones and burns from the training sabers they used during these sessions.

As Marr predicted, it went really quickly; only Adraas put up a decent fight against both him and Malgus but finally lost to Marr in one of the last rounds. That left only Malgus and Marr. All the others were either sitting on the floor, keeping the safe distance from the duelling ring, or left for the sick bay to lick their wounds. Baras got his jaw broken from a vicious blow from Adraas, but that was just one of the long list of injuries from today.

Marr was pretty sure that Malgus would send him, too, to the sick bay, but he wasn't going to go down without a fight. Not because he wanted the prize so desperately, not even because he hated Malgus and wanted some kind of revenge – quite the opposite, they got along very well –, but because he just needed a good fight, and he knew that he'd get it from Malgus.

"I don't want to hurt you" Malgus said, but there was an unsaid warning behind these words: _but I inevitably will._

"Don't worry about me, I don't break easily" Marr grinned back, raising his saber, ready for attack.

"Enough of whispering, lovebirds, show us what you've got!" the instructor muttered, and that was all he needed to say.

Marr attacked with a series of fast flurries, using his speed to get through Malgus' defences, but despite his size, Malgus was very quick, too. He parried all of Marr's slashes and started an aggressive counterattack that made Marr's whole arm ache just to avoid being hit; practice sabers or not, it'd have hurt pretty much. A second later he had to disengage to create some space between them and regroup and rethink his strategy.

However, Malgus didn't give him that chance, so they locked again in a ferocious, desperate duel, using both their weapons and fists if the opportunity presented itself; Marr suffered a backhanded hit that made him see stars but recovered quickly, returning the favour with a devastating kick to Malgus' stomach. Malgus rolled with the momentum the kick gave him, only to jump up completely unshaken and attack again with renewed determination. Marr was a worthy opponent, and he was intent to savour every moment of their duel.

A kick into his side sent Marr flying across the ring and crashing on the floor with such force that it knocked the air out of him. Knowing that Malgus wouldn't stop the attack, he rolled away, just in time to avoid the other's blade that smashed into the floor where his neck had been only a split second ago. Had it made contact, Malgus would've won their duel, but Marr wasn't yet ready to give up.

He got back to his feet, ready to meet Malgus' flurry of slashes and cuts, but his breathing came in shallow, painful gasps; his ribs were on fire, and he was sure at least one of them was broken, but more likely two. Malgus wasn't kidding with the warning that he'd inevitably get hurt. Marr pushed the pain aside, reaching out to the Force to support his strength and speed some, then engaged Malgus again, using everything he got. He knew he couldn't hope to win this fight, but he at least wanted to make Malgus break a sweat defeating him. That wish of his seemed to be granted, for both of their clothes were drenched in sweat, but soon, Malgus decided the duel with a Force-push that sent Marr crashing into the nearest wall.

He felt his arm breaking as he landed on the floor at a very bad angle, but he didn't have the strength to move, he was completely spent by now, even his consciousness flickered in and out as he lay shivering with pain and exhaustion. He heard footsteps nearing him, then Malgus' voice, a bit shaky with worry, but he couldn't make out what he was saying, he was too dazed for that. Then suddenly, everything went black.

*

Marr didn't know for how long he was out, but it must've been days, for all he felt now was some dull ache in his whole body; his broken bones were almost completely healed, thanks to a kolto tank, most probably, and he felt a hard mattress under himself and a warm blanket covering him.

Malgus indeed managed to get him into the sick bay.

He took a deep breath and tried to open his eyes, but the sudden stab of pain in his ribs made him gasp for air; he still needed to be careful, then. As he blinked for a few times, trying to shake off the last remnant of sleep, he spotted Malgus sitting next to his bed and reading something on his datapad. However, when he heard Marr stir, he looked up, and a grin spread on his face. Marr tried his best to smile back, but he still felt dazed and exhausted.

"I'm okay..." he murmured when he felt the wave of his friend's worry, already slipping back into a deep slumber. "Told ya I don't break easily..."

The last thing Marr heard before sleep claimed him again was Malgus' chuckle.


End file.
